What Darkseid Could Be Looking For In The Justice League Movie

The following is a combination of rumor, interpretation, and analysis that, if accurate, could be spoilers for the upcoming Justice League movies. If you want to be sure not to give anything away, look away

While the powers that be are still remaining officially mum when it comes to where the DCEU is going following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the conventional wisdom, and all evidence that we do have, continues to point toward Darkseid as the main antagonist in the Justice League movies. Now the man who will direct the villain, whoever he is, has begun to leave his own hints about what the big bad’s focus will be when we meet him. It won’t be anything too substantial, just the end of all life in the universe.

Appearing on the recent Empire Film Podcast, director Zack Snyder was asked about the villain for the Justice League, where he might be, and what exactly he might want. His answer is actually a little awkward, but that’s likely because he’s making a specific reference.

Maybe [Darkseid] exists out there in the universe. Maybe he's looking for something. Something that is against life?

"Something that is against life" is not phrased the way normal people speak English. You can practically hear the sound of Zack Snyder tripping over himself trying to give a hint without actually coming out and saying it.

Why? Because in the DC comics universe, Darkseid himself is pretty much against life. He wants to control all life in the universe. To do that, he is often in search of something called the "anti-life equation," which is a formula that leads to complete control over sentient life. In some iterations, the anti-life equation is an actual math formula, while at other times it's portrayed as an evil entity. In the comics, Darkseid believes that humanity is in possession of at least some of the equation. Now it looks like that may be true in the DCEU, as well.

This certainly falls in line with everything that we do know about the future of the DC movies at this point. The Omega symbol seen by Batman during his Knightmare sequence in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a direct reference to Darkseid. We’ve also already seen one of the deleted scenes that will be part of the film’s DVD release in which Lex Luthor communes with a creature holding Mother Boxes, devices used by Darkseid to travel from his own dimension into that of the "real world." Zack Snyder said our villain exists "out there in the universe," not necessarily in our reality.

One of our unanswered questions from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was, why exactly does Darkseid want to mess with Earth? This would certainly answer that question, if he believes humanity has something he wants. What do you think? Will the battle of the ages be over a math problem? Let us know what you think?